Automatic centrifugal starter-lock for automobile-engines.



J. V. & T. E. BOYETT. AUTOMATIC CENTRIFUGAL STARTER LOCK FOR AUTOMOB|LE ENGINES.

APPLICATION FI LED JUNE 2. 19!].

6 Patented Apr. 30, 1918.

' WITNESSES A NORA/E Y8 JAMES V. BOYET'I AND THOMAS E. BOYETT, OF MOBILE, ALABAMA.

AUTOMATIC CENTRIFUG-AL STARTER-LOCK FOR AUTOMOBILE-ENGINES.

essence.

Specification of Iictters Iatent.

Original application filed December 28, 1916, Serial No. 139,339. Divided and this application filed June 2,

vention is to provide an improved speed responsive or centrifugal device operable from one of the driven shafts of an automobile engine for rendering'lmpossible the coupling of the starter motor and the engine motor while the latter is running.

With these and other objects in View which will become apparent as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the construction, combination, and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully described and claimed and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which like characters of reference indicate like parts throughout the several figures, of which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a speed responsive lock constructed in accordance with the invention, showing the same mounted upon an automobile engine Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the posi tion of the parts when the engine is run e;

Fig. 3 is a section through the speed responsive device.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, the automobile engine is indicated generally at 5, and at 6 is represented one of the driven shafts of the engine, on which the speed responsive device is mounted. The starting motor, which may be of any suitable type, is not shown, but the pedal for conprolling the starting motor is indicated at the usualmanner, and is adapted to be depressed by the foot of the driver when the starting motor is to be thrown into operation for turning the engine over in starting the latter.

Depression of the pedal 7 is adapted to be controlled by a latch 8 in the form of an elbow lever, pivotally mounted in co- This pedal is pivotally mounted in Serial. No. 172,553.

operative relation to the pedal 7, and one arm of this latch is provided with a shoulder 9 adapted, when the latch is moved into operative position, to form a stop to prevent the depression of the pedal.

The speed responsive device includes a ring or collar 11, keyed or otherwise suitably fixed on the shaft 6,said collar being provided with a plurality of pivoted governor arms 12 provided at their cute ends with weights l3 and having their inner ends lt arranged in the path of movement of a sleeve 15, said sleeve being loosely mounted on the shaft 6 and movable axially of the latter. Intel-posed between the collar 11 and the sleeve 15 is a coiled spring 16 which tends to hold the sleeve in the position in dicated in Fig. 3, whereby the governor arms will be held inwardly relatively of the collar.

The sleeve is equipped with an annular groove 17 in which the forked upper end of an arm 18 plays. Through the lower end of the arm 18 extends one end of a rod 19, the rod being fixed with relation to the arm through the medium of jam nuts 20. The other end of the rod 19 is connected to the other arm of the latch 8 as shown in Fig. 2.

The operation of the device may be briefly described as follows: While the engine is at a standstill, the sleeve 15, being pressed outwardly by the spring 16, retains the governor arm in the position indicated in Fig. The latch 8, through the connecting rod 19 and arm 18, will be held in the inoperative position indicated by full lines in Fig. 2. The starter pedal 7 will thus be in an unlocked position, and may be depressed whereby to couple up the starter motor with the engine in order to start the latter. As soon as the engine attains a predetermined speed, the rotation of shaft 6 and with it the collar 11, will cause the governor arms to swing outwardly, thus, through the pressure of the inner end 14: of the arms against the sleeve 15, shifting the latter inwardly against the tension of the spring 16, and hence moving the rod 19 in the direction indioated by the arrow in Fig. 2, whereby to shift the latch 8 upwardly into operative position for preventing depression of the pedal 7, as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 2. Hence, as long as the engine rotates at or above the predetermined speed, it will be impossible to depress the pedal 7 and thus there will be no danger of the starter motor and engine being coupled together.

While we have set outthe preferred embodiment of this type of starter look, We may desire to make such changes in the construction, combination, and arrangement of parts thereof as do not depart from the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

We claim 1. In combination, a starter member, a latch to prevent rotation of the starter member, a ro-tary collar, weighted arms mounted on the rotary collar, a sleeve axially slidable within the collar, a spring housed by the collar and normally pressing the sleeve outwardly, and connecting means between the latch and sleeve to throw the latch into the path of the starter member and prevent operation thereof when the rotary collar attains a given speed.

2., In combination, a shaft, a collar rotatable with the shaft, a sleeve loose on the shaft and having an olfset portion slidable within the collar, a spring housed by the collar and exerting an outward pressure on the sleeve, weighted arms pivoted to the collar and in cooperative relation with the sleeve, a starter member, a latch, and connecting means between the sleeve and latch for throwing the latter into the path of the starter member to prevent operation thereof when the said shaft attains a given speed.

JAMES V. BOYETT, THOMAS E. BOYETT.

Witnesses:

JACK ALDRLDGE, MAI-ION E. PUGH.

coplea'ot thin patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

' Washington, D. 0." 

